Oswald writes poetry that combines a fascination with traditions of the distant past with a genuine interest in digging beneath the surface of all things to find layers that beg to be translated into words.

Al-Quds, which literally means “The Holy One,” is the Arabic name for Jerusalem. This city, with its palimpsest of histories, governments and languages, is the nucleus around which the electron cloud of this poem whirls.

Translation is a journey into the work of others, into a different language, a different place, and a different culture. Bishop made this journey repeatedly throughout her life, and as Mariana Machová shows in Elizabeth Bishop and Translation, her translations were not just exotic excursions – above all, they were parts in a process that opened a space that inspired her own writing.